The BEST episodes of The Adventures of Superboy (1988) season 1
Every episode of The Adventures of Superboy (1988) season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Adventures of Superboy (1988) season 1!
Based on the DC Comics character Superman's early years as Superboy. It was renamed The Adventures of Superboy at the start of the third season. The series was brought to the screen by executive producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind, who were the producers of the first three Superman movies and the 1984 Supergirl movie.
#1 - The Jewel of the Techacal
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/1988
Lana's father, an archeologist, comes to the university with what he thinks is a cursed relic. Lex Luthor then steals the jewel in order to seel it to the highest bidder.
#2 - Luthor Unleashed
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/27/1989
Luthor steals a powerful weapon developed by the army and prepares to sell it to weapon dealers. Later, while Luthor is working in the Shuster laboratory he causes an explosion and Superboy saves him by blowing the chemical fumes out of the building. The fumes kill Lex's hair and cause him to go bald and now Luthor's hatred for Superboy is greater than ever. He prepares to sell the weapon to anyone who can kill Superboy and three assassins try their best, but are defeated by Superboy. Meanwhile, Lex's hatred for Superboy has grown and led him to a change...
#3 - Revenge of the Alien (1)
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/4/1989
The alien from ""The Alien Solution"" escapes after a thief steals the canister containing him. He wants revenge on Superboy for destroying his collection of warrior bodies. The alien possesses a policeman and stalks the Boy of Steel. When he attacks Superboy at an agriculture center, he accidentally kills the body of the policeman he's possessing, and in the process he hurts Superboy. But when he tries to take over Superboy's body, he finds he can't get in and, angry, he possesses the body of Clark's visiting father, Jonathan Kent.
#4 - Succubus
Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/20/1989
A beautiful vampire-like creature seeks todrain Superboy of his life force and seduces T.J. as part of her plot.
#5 - Stand Up and Get Knocked Down
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/18/1989
TJ finds his friend Michael dead outside of the Bonkerz comedy club. TJ wants to find out what happened to him, so he goes to the club's amateur night. Before he goes on stage he discovers that the club owner, Dexter, killed Michael and is a drug deler. He tells a waitress, Angel, to take TJ a coke loaded with a potent drug to kill him. Luckily, she doesn't use the entire vial, and TJ only becomes sick. Clark and TJ are taken by Dexter and tied up with Angel. Small patches, taht are loaded with deadly drugs are attached to all three and Clark only has two minutes to act before TJ and angel will die. He breaks free and turns to Superboy, then removes the patches from Tj and Angel. TJ goes crazy. Dexter tries to run him down with his limo, but is stopped by Superboy.
#6 - Meet Mr. Mxyzptlk
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/25/1989
Superboy is called on to help remove a totem pole from the ground so it can be studied. When he arrives the totem won't budge. Just as he finally gets it out of the ground, it vanishes. Then a strange little man appears claiming to be from the 5th dimension. He is Mxyzptlk . Superboy meets him and discovers that Mxy's magic can harm him just as it could anyone else. Mxy decides he wants to take Lana back with him. Using his magic, he impersonates Clark and tries to get together with Lana. When Lana resists Mxy's twisted version of Clark, Mxy uses his magic to make her want to come with him. She is preparing to leave with Mxy when T.J., Superboy, and a scientist discover that the totem held back magical spirits. Once the totem was moved, the doorway to our world was opened. They also learn that saying his name backward will cause the imp to return to his own dimension for 90 days. Knowing this, Superboy gives Lana a going away speech that he will record on video tape.
#7 - Birdwoman of the Swamps
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/4/1989
When a bulldozer is turned over at a construction site TJ and Clark decide to investigate. Clark meets an old indian woman who believes the birds turned over the bulldozer. Clark, as Superboy, moves to bulldozer to its original position and pays a visit to the indian woman. She thinks he is the enemy since he turned the bulldozer back over. She says the construction of a home for the poor is destroying the forests and the wetlands. Mr. Hogan, who is the head of the construction project, orders the indian woman killed. Superboy visits the woman again and she uses a strange spell on him. He collapses in pain, but he is able to weakly fly away from the woman. After he leaves, she is attacked and left unconscious near the swamp by two of Hogan's men. Clark and TJ head to the construction company. They discover Hogan is charging the city top dollar for materials and using low-cost materials that aren't suitable for construction. Meanwhile, the indian woman is nearly killed by an alligator,
#8 - Terror from the Blue
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/11/1989
A group of cops gone bad attempt to kill police lieutenant Zeke Harris and Lana witnesses the shooting. The ""dirty"" cops chase after her and she avoids them. She leaves a message for Clark at his dorm. She then takes up with an ex-hippie in his trailer outside of the city. But the dirty cops find her there and this time she can't escape. Superboy finds the message on the answering machine and arrives just in time to save Lana from a horrible death at the hands of one of the dirty cops.
#9 - Hollywood
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/13/1989
Professor Zugar, invents a time machine and sends himself and Superboy back in time to Hollywood in the 1930s. Superboy meets a famous actor, Victoria Letour and discovers that she is being stalked by men who want to kill her. They eventually kidnap her and Superboy comes to her rescue. Meanwhile, the time machine must be repaired since a crucial part was damaged during the trip. An inventor brings his miracle calculator, much larger than todays, to fix the machine. The professor fixes the machine and Superboy returns in time to be transported back to the present. When he arrives, he attends the recently deceased Victoria's funeral with TJ and Lana.
#10 - Countdown to Nowhere
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/5/1988
Superboy must intervene when crooks steal a laser weapon and plan to use it to destroy a launching space shuttle.
#11 - Little Hercules
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/15/1989
Clark and TJ visit a young high-school genius named Billy Hercules who has been offered a scholarship by Shuster U. Clark befriends the boy, who he can relate to since both of them are different and out of place. After a field trip to a naval base, Billy breaks into the advanced computer system of a new navy submarine to impress a girl he likes and this activates a self-destruct mechanism that will go off in 30 minutes. Only Billy knows the codes to get access to the computer and stop the sub from exploding. Superboy flies him to the sub, and Billy gets cracking. Meanwhile, Superboy begins burning a hole through a six-foot thick door, that is locked tight and armed with explosives, in order to get access to the missles so he can deactivate them. Luckily, with seconds to spare, Billy disarms the security door and Superboy is able to break through and deactivate the missles. Billy is returned home and in the end, gets the girl after all.
#12 - War of the Species
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/18/1989
The military has given funding to an artificial intelligence project. T.J., Clark, and Lana visit the project to get a story for the Shuster Herald. They discover a dangerous android and are narrowly saved from death by Superboy. T.J. had taken pictures of the machine and the leader of the project took it, so T.J. returns to the project to get more shots. He is captured so that the android can undergo a final test against Superboy. Superboy arrives to save him, and discovers that the android's creator has his own secret. He too is an android from another world who created the other android to be his kiling machine, since he was programmed never to kill. He is badly damaged in Superboy's battle and a self-destruct program is initiated. Superboy flies him away as he explodes.
#13 - Revenge of the Alien (2)
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/1989
Now controlling Pa Kent, the alien makes his move to get revenge. He kinaps Lana and holds her hostage on a rooftop near Shuster University. Clark sees his father on the news with Lana and realizes something is wrong. When Lieutenant Harris tells Superboy that the cryogenics lab was robbed the night before, Superboy realizes who he is dealing with. He finds Pa Kent, and tells the alien that he will allow it to enter his body as long as he lets Pa Kent go. The alien agrees and Superboy takes the alien to Professor Peterson's lab. After the alien enters his body, Superboy activates a kryptonite ray in the lab. The kryptonite begins to kill Superboy and the alien inside is in agony. Superboy realizes he is dying. Pa Kent helps him move into a cryogenic freezer. Inside, the alien exits Superboy's body not realizing where he is. Once he goes into the cold air, his gaseous body freezes and becomes solid. Then it breaks apart into hundreds of pieces.
#14 - The Beast and Beauty
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/1988
A Superboy impersonator is robbing banks and jewelry stores to get a million dollars so he can marry Florida's beauty queen. The real Superboy is arrested for his acts and when the beauty queen, Jennifer Jenkins, refuses to marry the Superboy imposter, Hugo, she is kidnapped and the real Superboy is the only one who can save her. The Fixer- Lex Luthor is taking bets on Shuster's basketball team who are playing against Florida State University in their next game. He blackmails Shuster's star player into losing the game and Superboy takes over the job of the referee to stop Luthor and save Shuster from his scandal.
#15 - The Alien Solution
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/3/1988
A strange cloud-like alien who can take over others bodies comes to earth hoping to steal Superboy's body so he can add it to his collection of warriors. Knowing Superboy always comes to Lana's rescue, he puts her in danger and lures Superboy into the open. After Lana is almost killed by the alien's warrior body, Superboy agrees to do what the alien wants. He follow the alien to its ship, and destroys the alien's collection of warrior bodies. He then traps the alien in a canister, and hides the canister in a cryogenics lab on the college campus.
#16 - Back to Oblivion
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/1988
TJ goes to a scrapyard to investigate strange things that have happened there. When he arrives, he is trapped in a crushing machine by the old man, Mr. Wagner , who owns the scrap yard. Superboy saves him from being crushed to death. Lana decides to visit Mr. Wagner to learn what's going on. Wagner holds her hostage believing that she is his granddaughter Lena. His mind travels back to the days of World War II, when he was in a Nazi concentration camp, as he tries to protect his ""granddaughter"" from the Nazis, who are actually TJ and Clark returning to check on Lana. Wagner uses the scrap yard machinery against them and seemingly kills Clark. But Clark, as Superboy, barely saves Tj from a trap and frees Lana from Mr. Wagner. Wagner suffers a heart attack but survives and is finally free from the haunting memories of World War II.
#17 - The Russian Exchange Student
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/1988
When a scientist's formula to improve the efficiency of gasoline is nearly destroyed, a Russina exchange student named Natasha is accused of sabotaging the computer that the formula was stored on. Superboy steps in when a demonstration of the formula results in a powerful explosion. Again, Natasha is blamed. She is forced to leave the country within three days. TJ, who is ifatuated with Natasha, and Clark investigate. TJ discovers that Professor Gordon's assistant Jeff is working for a gasoline company that doesn't want the formula to get out since it would cause gasoline prices to drop drastically. TJ is found and dropped from a window high abouve the street by security guards in the company and saved in the nick of time by Superboy. Meanwhile, Jeff starts a fire and tries to kill Natasha and Professor Gordon, but Superboy arrives in time to save them and capture Jeff. Natasha decides to leave the US to assist Gordon, who is moving his research to Russia.
#18 - Bringing Down the House
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/1988
A rock star, Judd Faust (Leif Garrett), wants the Boardwalk and baseball amusement park and when the owner refuses to sell the park everyone in it is in danger. Bombs are detonated and sabotage is all around. When Lana falls in love with Judd she is in danger also. Judd takes her away one night and reveals his true nature to her. He puts her in a torture device and begins to try to pull her apart while he records her screams. Superboy arrives just in time to stop Judd and release Lana from the machines deadly grasp.
#19 - The Fixer
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/1988
Lex Luthor is taking bets on Shuster's basketball team who are playing against Florida State University in their next game. He blackmails Shuster's star player into losing the game and Superboy takes over the job of the referee to stop Luthor and save Shuster from his scandal.
#20 - Kryptonite Kills
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/28/1989
A Kryptonite meteor falls in Addis Ababa and is sent to Shuster for study. It turns up in one of Clark's classes, a class on minerals. There, Clark feels the pain of kryptonite for the first time. But Lex Luthor learns of it's value as an energy source and takes a piece of it. He uses it to power a machine that can knock out lights all over the city and allow him to loot stores and banks. When Superboy stops him, Luthor gives the rock to his girlfriend on a necklace. When a fire breaks out in Luthor's dorm during a date, Superboy attempts a rescue and is made powerless by the kryptonite. Now Luthor's evil may cause his own death. Luthor escapes the fire leaving his girlfriend there to die. He send Leo back in to get the necklace, and once the necklace is gone Superboy returns to normal and escapes to bring Luthor to justice. Professor Peterson then gives Superboy the kryptonite in a lead box and Superboy throws it into space.
#21 - Mutant
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/22/1989
Clark witnesses the kidnapping of Professor Craig Lipcott a famous nuclear scientist. As Superboy, he follows the kidnappers to a rooftop and sees them enter a strange ship just before he is attacked by a powerful ray that leaves him disoriented. When he looks up the ship is gone. Lipcott awakens inside the ship, which is actually a time machine, with two mutant men and a normal woman, Vora. The mutants want plutoinum. They reveal that they are from the 24th century and that they need plutonium to fight their enemies since no more exists in their time. TJ and Clark begin to investigate the kidnapping. TJ is taken by the mutant time travelers. Vora is sent to find Superboy so he can help them break into the installation where the plutonium is stored. Vora reveals to Superboy that she herself is a mutant in her society since everyone else has been mutated by fallout over the years. Superboy agrees to help in order to save TJ and Lipcott. Superboy gets the plutonium and flees with it.
#22 - Black Flamingo
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/6/1989
Superboy goes undercover in a punk nightclub where a terrorist called Snake-Man is hypnotizing teenagers to turn them into killers.
#23 - A Kind of Princess
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/15/1988
Clark falls for Sara Danner a rich and somewhat spoiled student at Shuster, who happens to be the daughter of crime boss Matt Danner . Superboy saves Danner's life when a bomb is set off by members of a rival crime syndicate, headed by a Mr. Casey. When Sara disappears from her 18th birthday party, it is revealed that Casey has kidnapped her. When Casey contacts Danner, Danner decides that his crime syndicate means more to him than his daughter's life. Superboy rescues Sara and stops Casey. Sara, feeling rejected by her father, decides to leave Shuster and Clark behind.
#24 - Troubled Waters
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/10/1988
A buisnessman wants to buy all the farms in the Smallville area during an agricultural depression. Mr. Kent wants to find out why. Kenderson , the buisnessman, has something to hide and tries to kill Mr. Kent but he is unsuccessful. Superboy, who is coming to visit because of the attempt to kill Mr. Kent, checks over the farmland and learns a river runs below it that could be of value. He now must stop Kenderson before he gets what he wants and kills Mr. Kent. Kenderson wants to blow up the community silo when Pa Kent goes to show it to the bank's mortgage department manager. As the two pull up to the silo Kenderson's men attack and prepare the silo for destruction. As they prepare to destroy the silo, Superboy arrives and stops Kenderson once and for all.
#25 - The Phantom of the Third Division
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/29/1989
Jonathan Kent is being stalked by a man who he fought alongside in the Korean War. As Clark, Lana, and T.J. come to Smallville for a visit, Mr. Kent is lured to the Smallville hospital and kidnapped by the man. He blames Mr. Kent for the torture he went through in a prisoner of war camp. He makes Mr. Kent go through an obstacle course like the one at the camp to torture him and make him feel the same pain he felt. Superboy must now be the one to save his father's life and end the madman's emotional pain. He suceeds in stopping the ""phantom"" and Pa Kent volunteers to return him to the sanitarium.